When seller pics and/or posts aren't honest…

[ch_br]

I started this post to share my experience and hopefully to start a conversation about a topic which is rarely discussed – potential seller deception.

Up until this point, I've had many many great experiences from a ton of great people on KKF.

Unfortunately, this is not one of those.

I won’t reveal the seller's name, but I will discuss the experience:

I bought a high-end blade from a world class maker based on the following description and pictures. The pics were represented to be current at time of posting.

Inside the thread, there was no mention of any poor condition or issues of any kind with the blade or saya.


Knife Tech Specs:

• Tansu 240mm Honyaki (Blue #2)
• Blade length: 240mm
• Weight: 227g
• Taper: ~ 2.5mm > 1.9mm >.8mm
• Blade height at heel: 56mm
• HRC: ~ 65
• Handle: Exhibition Pomelle Sapele with G10/bronze spacer
• with bag and leather-lined friction saya

Also, inside the sales thread, the seller was asked by a well-known member if the seller gave the blade a polish.

They responded “guilty” with a smiley emoji. Either of which typically indicates a yes.


SELLER'S SALES THREAD PICTURES:

RECEIVED BLADE CONDITION

Showcasing Actual Condition of Received Knife Surfaces by reflecting the lighting source back into the camera lens:






The following very clear Blade Issues were found upon opening package:

• Rust spots on both sides of the blade near the heel.
• The entire surface of the blade has hundreds/thousands of deep scratches.
• Scratches are so numerous that you cannot even definitively find a hamon line.

In the end, the seller eventually came around and refunded me some $ to send it back to the original maker for a complete overhaul. (which it's en route to now) But that was only after ghosting me for 9 days after initially stating there was no issue and then telling me "all it has is some scratches on the metal that can be polished out."


My questions for everyone:

In your opinion, does this blade seem to match the description and pictures that were used to sell it?

Should a seller that behaves this way, before and after purchase, be trusted to keep selling?

______________________________________________________________


Wisdom Gained from the Experience, for All KKF BST Potential Buyers:

As with all internet purchases, if you don’t have an existing relationship with the seller…

Then all potential buyers should INSIST for current condition pics, from all angles of the blade, contain the posting day's date (or close to) in all pictures.

It’s also HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and helpful if the seller's pictures reflect the light source in the room. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO ENSURE THE CURRENT CONDITION OF ANY BLADE.

 

[DF18]

Obviously old pictures or heavily edited ones we used to make the sale. And whatever happened to that poor blade is a crime against humanity.

 

[Gregmega]

Ooooh heaters coming in, get the popcorn bb

 

[Bico Doce]

When you try to “polish” your knife in attempts to restore it but it turns out you have no skill…

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

That sucks really bad friend.

I can only speak for myself here but that individual set off my alarm bells very early. It also seems like he runs a pseudo knife selling business here without even being a Supporting Member let alone a vendor.

 

[Bensbites]

I am on here much less than other regulars, so I don't know who the seller is, and don't remember seeing the for sale post.

1) I don't think the blade condition matches the advertised condition.

2) did you talk to the seller about this "inconsistency ". Did you pay with goods and services ? If you have the ability to take action. I would.

 

[esoo]

IMO, the pictures don't show the knife status. I've sold a knife with that level of scratches - I was upfront, it was discounted and the buyer actually commented that the knife wasn't as bad as I made it out to be.

I would not be happy to receive that knife based on the listing pictures.

 

[ch_br]

2) did you talk to the seller about this "inconsistency ". Did you pay with goods and services ? If you have the ability to take action. I would.

As mentioned above, the seller eventually refunded me some money for the repairs.

But ONLY after:

1. First, telling me nothing was wrong
2. Second, telling me I got good value was just scratches that could easily be polished out
3. Telling me he couldnt take it back when I brought it up
4. Ghosting me for 9 days
5. Eventually saying he would pay, admitting he had "a bad moment"

 

[tostadas]

With such a small niche like the knife community, reputation carries a lot of weight. Long term hit to credibility would be much more significant than any short term gain.

 

[McMan]

Bummer. That's not a re-finish, that's a de-finish.
I'm struggling to even figure out what the intention was... those are low-grit scratches and on the brass bolster too?! This has green scrubbie whoopsie written all over it. Then some ham-handed attempt to blend that.

Glad to hear you got a resolution that, hopefully, can work for you even if it was an unpleasant road to get there. Regardless, I'm sure you weren't planning on sending the knife to Oz when you got it.
Glass half full--at least when you get it back from Mert it'll be in beautiful shape and you can be the one to add wear.

 

[Bensbites]

As mentioned above, the seller eventually refunded me some money for the repairs.

But ONLY after:

1. First, telling me nothing was wrong
2. Second, telling me I got good value was just scratches that could easily be polished out
3. Telling me he couldnt take it back when I brought it up
4. Ghosting me for 9 days
5. Eventually saying he would pay, admitting he had a bad " moment"

Sorry you had to deal with that. I have been through similar things with non knife world vendors.

 

[ian]

The scratches were probably just shipping damage. “In addition to knife, package contained bobcat.”

It does look like he polished it, though.

Sorry this happened to you.

 

[cotedupy]

“In addition to knife, package contained bobcat.”

Splendid!

 

[Gregmega]

That looks like a green scrubby snafu followed by a medium grit wet/dry sandpaper Hail Mary salvage job. My only question is how tf did they get it that far up on the the brass bolster. Like that’s an aggressive amount of scratching. In the real world we’d call that a cover-up.

More importantly- what did Mert say?

 

[ch_br]

Mert knew exactly who this person was, and knew this blade. I reached out to verify the material and construction because I could not really find a distinct hamon line.

I don't want to discuss the convo... I'll just say this:

Mert is very passionate about fixing the blade so his work is correctly represented in the world. In video chat, he told me this was one of his favorite blades & hamons he ever created in Blue #2.

He literally offered to buy the knife 3 times from me over a video call, if I couldn't get it fixed.

He cares that much that his creations are represented well in the world.

I'm just happy he's willing to take it on so its restored to its former glory!

To show you how passionate Mert is... 12hrs after our call, he posted this about the blade on his IG, showcasing the original condition and his love for his past work:

 

[RRLOVER]

That looks like a salvage job from an accidental green scrubby snafu followed by a medium grit wet/dry sandpaper hack-job in the hands of a novice. My only question is how tf did they get it that far up on the the brass bolster. Like that’s an aggressive amount of scratching. In the real world we’d call that a cover-up.

More importantly- what did Mert say?

That's exactly what I was thinking....How did the bolster get dragged into that mess.

 

[ian]

Mert knew exactly who this person was, under other unfortunate circumstances surrounding another of his blades that was sold in a misrepresented fashion.

I don't want to discuss the convo.. I'll just say this:

Mert is very passionate about fixing the blade so his work is correctly represented in the world. In video chat, he told me this was one of his favorite blades & hamons he ever created in Blue #2.

He literally offered to buy the knife 3 times from me over a video call, if I couldn't get it fixed.

He cares that much that his creations are represented well in the world.

I'm just happy he's willing to take it on so its restored to its former glory!

To show you how passionate Mert is... 12hrs after our call, he posted this about the blade on his IG, showcasing the original condition and his love for his past work:

Sexy jamón.

Yum.

 

[esoo]

That looks like a salvage job from an accidental green scrubby snafu followed by a medium grit wet/dry sandpaper hack-job in the hands of a novice. My only question is how tf did they get it that far up on the the brass bolster. Like that’s an aggressive amount of scratching. In the real world we’d call that a cover-up.

More importantly- what did Mert say?

If you go looking, you can find a previous sales posting for this knife where there is an insane amount of patina on it - all the way up to the bolster. Probably just didn't use tape to protect the bolster while trying to remove it.

 

[Chicagohawkie]

Oh man, that’s unreal. Very cool of Mert to help out and rehab this. I’m sure he’ll have looking good as new.

 

[Delat]

Also, inside the sales thread, the seller was asked by a well-known member if the seller gave the blade a polish.

They responded “guilty” with a smiley emoji. Either of which typically indicates a yes.

Looks like it got a solid 100 grit polish to me

 

[Gregmega]

If you go looking, you can find a previous sales posting for this knife where there is an insane amount of patina on it - all the way up to the bolster. Probably just didn't use tape to protect the bolster while trying to remove it.

Good to know it’s been loved. I do however think there may be less intrusive ways to remove patina, though this is my first time seeing the knife or hearing of its provenance. It reminds me of the first soft cladding experience I had, which was an absolute fiasco. Hard lesson to learn.

 

[Campbell]

I bought a knife and some wood from the seller in the past. The interactions were positive and the purchases were well represented.

This was clearly not the case with what he sold you and I'm sorry it happened. I would have been upset if it had been me.

I hope he can acknowledge that he erred and make it right. Hate it when this kind of stuff happens.

 

[enchappo]

Not really encouraged by the 'consolidating knives' deletion of multiple historical WTS threads...

 

[Bico Doce]

Not really encouraged by the 'consolidating knives' deletion of multiple historical WTS threads...

Something was definitely fishy…

 

[hendrix]

I agree the above knife was misrepresented but likewise I recently had a transaction with the seller in which the knife was accurately described both in text and photos.

 

[toddnmd]

Interesting, same member did some shady stuff removing original sales info as he "consolidated" on multiple sales threads last week.
Buyer beware, I will not be buying from him here on KKF, nor purchasing any wood from his website.

 

[More_Gyutos]

If you go looking, you can find a previous sales posting for this knife where there is an insane amount of patina on it - all the way up to the bolster. Probably just didn't use tape to protect the bolster while trying to remove it.

What a jack@ss. That is a POS move.

 

[esoo]

Something was definitely fishy…

I don’t know what the original price of this knife was from Mert, but the price history of it here was a bit of sketch.

 

[bahamaroot]

Definitely a deceptive post. I've always thought there was something a bit off about this dude. Got bad vibes from the day he showed up. It's guys like him why I always use buyer protection payment types when dealing with someone I'm not 100% sure about.

 

[Lurkernomore]

Lots of used honyaki getting flipped are highly suspicious. Absolute ruins.